Wouldn't it be nice if you guys had your very own channel on YouTube, with videos of the gatherings, or even performances from different members released weekly or something.

Don't think it is that a good idea.

I've never really like posting effects online. Leads to unnecessary exposure.
While we can't stop others, we won't join in the trend.

Also, I would think we would love to have people making efforts to come down for gathering. Through interactions, we can all learn better. I mean, what can be better than performing in front of real people and facing real life performing problems?

Also, by posting videos of effects, there could lead to some people just wanting to pick up stuff from them (don't get me wrong, not referring to you).

Does SMC have a group in Facebook? I tried searching for it but didn't manage to find unless i have been searching wrongly :(

If we don't have...maybe the admins here can set up one.

I both agree and disagree with you here.

Videos of performances that lead to exposure are either performed by someone who hasn't been practicing enough, or just didn't go through the videos themselves, looking for possible exposures in the performances.

Personally, I believe that the reason we started learning magic, was to amaze others. At least that's how it was for me, and by posting online performance videos of our 'unique' effects, isn't it as good as performing to a large group of spectators in real life?
Its harder to make clean in a video, but once you master it, performing in real life shouldn't be much of a problem now, isn't it?

I didn't mean posting raw videos of you performing for the webcam, but let's think out of the box, have fun with the fact that you can edit the videos, and the viewers still will enjoy the final product.

Take Marco Tempest (The Virtual Magician) for example,
He really takes full advantage of the fact that he's in control of the video camera, and comes up with crazy ideas and effects that most of us would've never thought of.

What I was thinking of was, posting of our original, unique effects.
I'm pretty sure many of us here have been keeping to ourselves ideas of potentially 'mind-f***ing' (excuse my language) effects, just rotting away in the ol' cobweb-coated, ketchup-filled thing called a brain, haven't we?

Then again, like you said, there are also the 1001 negative points, which overrules the positive points.

Yes, I do have the so-called rotting ideas that I plan to share with you guys in the future gathering, especially like the one which just passed, where we discuss about the effects, so see you in there!
Its been so long since I last went to the gatherings anyway so yeah!

Sorry if I offended anyone in this not-so-wally wall of text.
Non was intended, so peace out!

- 'Gakuto'

Are you saying that performing for a video cam is the same as performing for a real life audience?

Um. NO. One thousand times NO.

Yes, you can still amaze millions of people with your video. But the only problem is... you would never grow as a magician. It is what Chinese would say "zhi shang tan bing" (fighting a war on paper).

You might be able to delude yourself that you are the greatest magician in the world, baffling zillions of human beings... but have you ever learn how to manage audience, handle hecklers, cover angles, real-time misdirection, entertaining people.... etc?

Even Marco Tempest has performed "live".

My suggestion was not limited to taking videos of ourselves performing to 'the PC', but also performances to real-life people, in the real world.
How is that not live?

Competition clips, event performances videos.. hey! It's YOUTUBE!

It was just a suggestion, to create an SMC channel in YouTube of the gatherings, or whatever SMC, to help promote this club, but I guess it's best just the way it is.

I wanted to add more points to this, but I guess there's no point to do so.
Topic closed (thanks, mod), and thanks for your opinions.

Hey Kazekage,

Thanks for your suggestion. I think with the world become more inclined multimedia, I think its not a bad suggestion at all.

I think for one, videos of meeting can be uploaded. Probably not stand alone effects with music with black background and just a pair of hands. I think youtube has really good magic but mostly, are quite bad, like what Axl said. So that kind of videos if wants to be online, should be done by the users themselves.

Thanks, we will keep this in mind.

"At least that's how it was for me, and by posting online performance videos of our 'unique' effects, isn't it as good as performing to a large group of spectators in real life?
Its harder to make clean in a video, but once you master it, performing in real life shouldn't be much of a problem now, isn't it?"

Sorry, but from your previous post, you wasn't too clear. That's why both me and matt would think that you meant just performing for camera. And that is what we don't agree with.

I am not trying to shoot your idea down, but only giving my personal opinion too, mod or otherwise. So please don't think I was trying to "pull rank" here.

If you feel you have more to say on the subject, you are most welcome really. But you must be willing to accept there are people in this world who have different opinions too...